Kersey is in her 4th obedience class right now. We actually started a new (and cheaper) school just to try it out and it's OK. I LOVE her old school, but it's just too expensive to take her threw as many classes as I want to. The new instructor is not as much fun, but it's about 50 miles closer and $150 cheaper! In just a few weeks we'll be graduating and I'll then be heading to the advanced class, with an instructor whom I have met and like alot.
Monday I signed her up in the new class, but it was actually the 4th week, so I came in late. It's an 8 week course and we are starting off-lead healing. Kersey's doing very well. In class, when we did about turns and left turnes, Kersey's attention was not quite as it should have been, but she is back in the swing of things now. I train her for 10 minutes every day and she has it down well now. We are also working on "finishes", when she must move into the heal position, and the methods are different then we were used to and she didn't know what to do while in class, but she now does finishes very well.
I am also starting her in tracking this spring, and starting next Sat or Sunday (date not yet set) I will be joining a SAR group for training. I just spoke with the instructor of the SAR group and she gave me some pointers on how to train Kersey to use her nose instead of visual ques. One of the things we will be working on is taking her without Graham to the park to train with her. I will be doing some baited track training in short grass to begin with, then I will move to a field with long grasses once I get her using her nose, instead of her eyes. I will also trade in her flouresent colored tennis balls, to jute and/or hemp balls, which blend in with the earth so much better!
One other pointer that both the advanced class instructor, and the SAR/tracking instructor advised that I work on, is making Kersey actually hand me her tennis balls, instead of spit them at my feet, which she always does. I have one of those "Chuck-It" tennis ball throwers, and I always used it to pick up the tennis ball, and Kersey quickly learned to drop it at my feet, but now I am in the process of "untraining her" to do that, and to hand it to me. I make her present it to me, but it requires a bit of persuasion still. I only just started making her hand me her toys in my hand, without me having to bend down. She is doing well with it, and is just starting to realize that the game is over unless she hands me the ball. It's a bit more gross because the ball is always wet with slobber, but I pretend like it's the most wonderful thing when she actually hands it to me
Monday is our 2nd class at this new school, and we will be doing more off-lead healing. Kerse still tends to get just a tad too far ahead of me while healing, but after our class on Monday, she should do fine I think.
I just recentlly registered Kersey with the Mixed Breed Dog Clubs of America (MBDCA), and that will enable us to show her in obedience and tracking. We are by no means ready to do either, but I will at the very least furthering her obedience. Hopefully she'll like the tracking and SAR work that we are due to start soon.
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